Former MP in Samoa found guilty of forgery and fraud

A fomer Samoa Member of Parliament, Toluono Feti Toluono, has been found guilty of fifteen charges including forgery, fraud, false pretence, and uttering false documents.

The defendant was charged over the sale of freehold lands belonging to two residents of New Zealand without their consent.

Judge Pierre Slicer found the former opposition MP guilty as the principal instigator of the crimes.

The actions took place after Toluono Feti Toluono left his job as the general manager of the Electric Power Corporation and during his five year term as an MP for Palauli constituency from 2006 to 2011.

The co-defendant, who is currently serving a jail sentence as a result of the same crime, is also a relative of the owners of the land.

The case will be heard again next Tuesday for the court to set a sentencing date.